We analyze different options for the design of a common unemployment insurance system for the euro area (EA). We assess their effectiveness to act as an insurance device in the presence of asymmetric macroeconomic shocks. Running counterfactual simulations based on micro data for the period...

The German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) submitted an order for referral to the European Court of Justice (CJEU) in 2014, asking it to clarify the compatibility of the "Outright Monetary Transactions" (OMT)-Programme with European Union law. The OMT-Programme prepares...

The 2008-09 crisis has shown that some euro area member countries were unable to sufficiently stabilize their economies which has given rise to a debate about deeper fiscal integration in Europe. In this paper, we analyze the redistributive and stabilizing effects of two scenarios of fiscal...

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of the tax and transfer systems in the European Union and the US to act as an automatic stabilizer in the current economic crisis. We find that automatic stabilizers absorb 38 per cent of a proportional income shock in the EU, compared to 32 per cent in the...

The current debt crisis has given rise to a debate about deeper fiscal integration in Europe. The view is widespread that moving towards a 'fiscal union' would have a stabilising effect in the event of macroeconomic shocks. In this paper we study the economic effects of introducing two elements...

The Corona pandemic exposes the strengths and weaknesses of the European Union (EU) as well as the differences in the resilience of the European economies. This study therefore looks at how the EU and its member states can emerge stronger and more competitive from the crisis. The ideas of the...

Die Corona-Pandemie legt die Stärken und Schwächen der Europäischen Union (EU) bloß und verdeutlicht die Unterschiede in der Leistungs- und Widerstandsfähigkeit der europäischen Volkswirtschaften. Die vorliegende Studie widmet sich daher der Frage, wie die EU gestärkt und mit höherer...

The European Central Bank (ECB) is currently conducting a review of its monetary policy strategy. The last formal review took place in 2003. Now the focus is on the extent to which this strategy has contributed in recent years to fulfill the mandate set out in the Treaties of the European Union...

We analyze how the combined effect of automatic stabilizers and discretionary changes in tax-benefit systems have affected the cushioning of income shocks in the Euro zone and the EU-27 in the period 2007-2014. We propose a new summary measure of the combined effect of automatic stabilizers and...

Die Europäische Zentralbank (EZB) führt derzeit eine Überprüfung ihrer geldpolitischen Strategie durch. Die letzte formelle Überprüfung fand im Jahr 2003 statt. Nun geht es darum, inwieweit diese Strategie in den vergangenen Jahren dazu beigetragen hat, das im EU-Vertrag festgelegte Mandat...